


Nativity

by sarkywoman



Category: X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-03
Updated: 2006-12-03
Packaged: 2017-11-20 09:30:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/583852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarkywoman/pseuds/sarkywoman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was for a challenge back in 2006. It's an AU, they're all kiddies in Xavier's school, with their powers. It's also the most nauseatingly fluffy thing I've ever written. I'm embarrassed to put my name to it. Oh well. Is there a rating softer than G? Because this is it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nativity

“Don’t wanna be in the play,” John groused, sitting with his arms folded on the floor.

Bobby tugged at his arm again, trying to pull the other boy up. “Come on John, it’ll be fun. Well, if we go now and get the good parts. I wanna be Joseph!”

“So go be Joseph,” John said, still pouting at the floor.

“I want you to come too. You’ll have to be in it whether you go or not, so you might as well go and get a good part.”

“I don’t wanna be in the play!” John shouted. “The play sucks! I don’t wanna be in the play!”

Bobby’s jaw dropped. “The play doesn’t suck! The play’s from the bible!”

“So?”

Bobby’s jaw dropped even further, if it was possible. “It’s how baby Jesus was born!”

“In a play? That must have sucked. You get born in front of loads of people watching with their cameras.”

“No, the play is about him being born.”

John scoffed. “I knew that. You think I’m mega-stupid, don’t you? It was a joke.”

“John!” Bobby still looked shocked. “You can’t joke about baby Jesus! It’s against the law! You’ll go to prison and your parents will…” Bobby slapped a hand over his mouth. He’d forgotten that Johnny didn’t have any parents anymore.

John shrugged. “If I go to prison the Professor won’t make me be in the play.”

“No, no, you’ll have to be in the prison play with scary people instead of in the school play with me.” Bobby looked desperate. “Come on John, don’t you wanna see me be Joseph?”

“No.”

Bobby frowned, thinking for a moment. “Did you want to be Joseph?”

“No!”

“You could be one of the Wise Men. I’m sure the Professor won’t mind if you pretend to be wise, I mean, it’s only a play after all.”

“Go away.”

“Rogue is gonna be an angel.”

“I don’t care.”

“Kitty’s gonna be Mary.”

“I don’t care.” John slouched further down against the side of the bed so that he was almost lying on the floor. He didn’t want to go on the stage in front of everyone and pretend to be a dumb person in a dumb play.

“John,” Bobby took a deep breath, “if we don’t go to rehearsals now, you’ll have to be a sheep.”

It looked for a moment like John was giving it some serious consideration. “Would I get a sheep mask?”

“I don’t know. You could ask. But you’d have to go ‘maaaaa’, like a sheep.”

John went ‘maaaa’ quietly. “I could do that.”

“You actually want to be a sheep?” Bobby asked, confused. “Nobody wants to be a sheep.”

“If the sheep gets a sheep mask, I’ll be a sheep.”

“Okay then,” Bobby extended his arm to the boy, “let’s go.”

John stood up and they began walking down to the hall. “Does Joseph get a mask?”

“Why would Joseph want a mask?”

“So nobody knows he’s in the play.”

“But they have to know he’s in the play or baby Jesus won’t know who his daddy is.”

“I thought baby Jesus’ daddy was god,” John said, looking puzzled.

“Well he was his daddy too. Baby Jesus had two daddies.”

“I had a friend with two daddies once, her name was Jessica,” John said thoughtfully. “So God and Joseph wanted a baby and Mary helped them out?” He looked inquisitively at Bobby, who was staring at him blankly. “What?”

“God had a baby with Mary.”

“Right. So Joseph couldn’t make babies? Or were God and Mary friends already?”

“I… don’t quite understand, John.”

“Oh. Never mind then. The bible’s probably got a huge explanation of it.”

They reached the hall, where various people were running around with decorations and some of the kids were practising their choral singing with Jean. Professor Xavier was chatting with Scott over by the piano. 

“But Professor,” Scott whined in an adolescent tone, “I don’t want to help out backstage. The kids will all be fighting and stropping out and I don’t want to do that. Isn’t there something else I can do?”

“I wanna be Joseph!” Bobby cried out, terrified that his role was about to be given away.

The Professor turned to the boys with a smile. “I had an inkling that you might, Bobby. You’ll be wonderful, I’m sure.”

“Yes!” Bobby did a happy dance. “I’m Joseph, I’m Joseph!”

“How about you, John? Any parts you particularly want to play?”

“Does the sheep get a mask?” John asked the bald man.

Scott sniggered and Xavier smiled. “A mask? That would be no good. Nobody would be able to see it was you. You could be the best part and I’d have everybody’s parents coming up to me afterwards asking me who the wonderful sheep was.”

“You could tell them to mind their own business.”

Xavier sighed. “Why do you want a mask, John?”

“I don’t want to be in the play, Professor,” John said averting his eyes to the ground. “But Bobby said I have to be so if I have to be I want to wear a mask so nobody knows it’s me.”

“Scott, could you go and help Forge with the lights?” The boy nodded, pushing his ruby glassed up before leaving Xavier with John and Bobby, who was still dancing around saying “I’m Joseph, I’m Joseph…”

“Why don’t you want to be in the nativity, John?” The boy had problems, but they were still at an early stage when it came to discussing those problems. “Are you frightened of going on stage in front of all those people?”

“No,” John said with a laugh, as though the idea was ridiculous. But the laugh was very short-lived. “Maybe. And I don’t believe in Jesus, either. It’s all silly.”

Xavier looked up at Bobby, who had stopped dancing and was staring at John in terror. “Professor, you’re not gonna send John to prison, are you? He didn’t mean it! Say you didn’t mean it, John!”

“Bobby, Bobby, ssh. Nobody’s in any trouble.” Charles decided to have a word with Mr and Mrs Drake next time they visited about putting ideas in their son’s head. “Can you go and tell Ororo I’ve said you can be Joseph? She’ll find you a costume.” Bobby nodded and scurried off. “Let’s go and have a talk outside, John.”

The young boy followed the wheelchair out of the hall into the dining room, where he sat at the table next to the Professor. “So you aren’t religious then, John?”

“Nope. If there is a god, he’s a big meanie and his son must be a big meanie too.” Charles winced on the inside. So jaded, so young.

“I’m not a believer either.”

John frowned. “Then how come you’re making us do the play?”

“It makes people happy. Ororo isn’t of the Christian faith either and Kitty is Jewish. They are participating because Christmas is about goodwill. Kitty’s parents will be watching their daughter perform a story from a religion that disputes certain facts with their own faith because she wants to be involved in spreading the spirit of generosity that Christmas is supposed to encourage.”

“So,” John looked pensive, “what you’re saying is, it doesn’t matter whether I think it’s dumb? I just gotta do it to make everyone who does like it happy?”

“No, you don’t have to do anything. But I think Bobby would be pleased to see you involved.”

“Bobby’s always tryin’ to make me play with everyone. Just ‘cos I’m friends with him don’t mean I wanna be friends with his friends. Especially the stupid girls. Marie makes my head hurt.”

“Nobody is going to make you do something if you really don’t want to, John. I think we ought to be getting back inside now.”

“I want to be in the play.”

Xavier smiled. “Wonderful. Now…”

“Wait!” John held up a hand. “I… I sorta wanted to be in the play when Bobby said he was gonna be in the play, but…”

“What’s the matter?” Xavier asked with concern. 

“There are gonna be… Bobby said there are gonna be a load of people there. Everybody’s parents, and people from the town. I don’t….” John sighed, the sound more sad for his age. “I’m scared, Professor. They’ll all be looking at me. But if I’m not in the play Bobby will get sad. That’s why I thought if I could be a sheep with a mask, it would work best!” He brightened up at the idea.

“What if you did something extremely important that didn’t require your presence on stage?” Xavier asked.

“That’d be cool,” John said with a shrug. “If it was really important.”

“One could say you’d be the star of the show, John.”

*

“The Son of God, born to my wife Mary. I can barely believe it!” Bobby said loudly with exaggerated shock. He looked at Kitty, who was staring with abject fear at the amused and adoring audience. 

Bobby nudged her and she shrieked out, “it’s a shame there are no presents for my baby!”

Jean started playing the introductory bars of ‘We Three Kings’ on the piano. One side of the stage, darkened and as of yet unused, was suddenly lit up brightly by a flame in the air, a four-pointed star. The audience made hushed noises of awe as the star moved around the air, seemingly with no strings, hovering slightly above a giggling Joseph for a moment before taking its proud place in the centre stage. The three kings began their lengthy journey across the stage very slowly, singing their song.

Nobody but Xavier and the Drake parents saw Bobby wave to someone offstage with a huge grin on his face.


End file.
